"The hills that we live in are magical, the people with whom I have the pleasure of working with everyday are truly inspirational, and the work that we are doing is benefiting the community that we are so privileged to live and work in. It is now almost eight months after I arrived in Nepal, and I still wake up with a smile on my face, eager to work everyday.
"I could’ve never in a million years imagined where my life would be right now, even though this is exactly what I wanted. I’m using my knowledge and talents. I came to Nepal to help rebuild the lives of those who lost everything, and I’ve gained so much in the process- both from local Nepalis and from international volunteers from all walks of life.
"The bricks are the building blocks of the schools, but the process of making them is the foundation of our relationship with the community and the basis of many of the other projects that we take on in the holistic progression of rebuilding...I cannot deny that I will always feel connected to Takure."
Conscious Impact is excited to launch a new educational video series explaining how to make Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks! Check out our Vimeo page for more videos and to get a glimpse of what our team in Nepal does everyday to support sustainable, long-term rebuilding in Takure.
Come volunteer with us to learn about natural building and support the rebuilding process in Nepal.
" It’s not the mystical sunrises, breaking over the horizon like a rosy pink smile, or the whispering trees, or the terraced hills with their weathered faces carrying hundreds of years worth of stories to tell. The beauty I’ve found is in the Nepali people, who have welcomed foreigners from a different land with unbelievably kind open arms, the purity of their smiles like gifts I didn’t think I was worthy of receiving."
Conscious Impact and YUWA Unity Nepal just launched our month-long fundraiser, Bricks for Nepal, to help us raise funds to buy the necessary clay, sand, and cement for brick production. This holiday season our community will be producing as many bricks as possible and we need your help!
For every $1, we can produce 2 bricks.
We are committed to making more than 30,000 bricks in the next 6 months to begin rebuilding the two primary schools of Takure. Our goal is to raise at least $8,000 or 16,000 bricks which would put us well on our way for rebuilding the first of the two schools. Please consider contributing to our fundraiser this month: https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/bricks-for-nepal/x/10734542
My first fundraising effort was an art gift fundraiser, where I offered donors the option of receiving a painting as a gift for certain tiers of fundraising. I advertised predominantly through Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook, I created an event, inviting all my friends to donate in order to receive gifts and support Conscious Impact's work in Nepal.
If you haven't seen it yet, here is the beautiful video by Jonathan H. Lee of Subtle Dream Photography, covering the last 6 weeks of hard work and joyful play in Takure, Sindhupalchok, Nepal. Volunteers from around the world have come to join Conscious Impact as we create a training center where the local community will produce Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEBs) to rebuild schools and homes for years to come. Our amazing partner YUWA Unity Nepal, led by Mark Wiebers and Dheeraj Mishra, guides us along as we cut bamboo, carry stone, level earth, plant trees, sing songs and dance all the way. So much love to everyone that has played a role in this organization and to all of you that will join us in Nepal soon. Namaste!
About a week ago our crew of long term volunteers piled up blankets and pillows in the common space of our camp and slept head to head, awaiting the arrival of our brick press. Anytime anything arrives at our camp in Takure, we are excited. New volunteers, fresh veggies dropped off by local community members, and chocolate are all greeted with an abundance of enthusiasm. But this brick press! This Auram 3000 Brick Press had been lollygagging at the Indian border for over two months while our dedicated team of volunteers and local community members created a beautiful home for it in the mountains and terraces of Takure. They were not going to let it sneak up in the dark of night. They welcomed the press at the training center at 3am and took photographs in dawn's first light for those of us with the misfortune to not be at camp for its impromptu arrival. Truth be told, the late arrival wasn't the brick press’ fault. Unrest at the border with India kept our beautiful, bright orange, brick press caged up.
But now, assembled, and fully functioning, our brick press is ready. We are ready. The community of Takure is 100% ready. We are making bricks. CSEB's to be exact. Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks. Sourcing all of our raw materials from the surround 8 km, our CSEB's will be local, sustainable, and manually produced at our Brick Production and Training Center.
Our team is aching to get started. In the next 6 months, before the rains of the monsoon are upon us, we want to make 60,000 bricks. We want to complete the rebuild of one primary school and start the second. We want to show the village of Takure our dedication through our actions here on the ground but also through the continued generosity of our friends and family around the world.
So we ask for your help. Come join us, mix sand, gravel, clay, and cement and make bricks. Spread the word. Those of you that were here, share your stories with the people around you. Those of you that are coming, tell everyone you know that you are about to touch a village and a community in a beautiful and enduring way. You will help them make bricks, build new schools, and rebuild their lives.
So we ask for your help. Come join us, mix sand, gravel, clay, and cement and make bricks. Spread the word. Those of you that were here, share your stories with the people around you. Those of you that are coming, tell everyone you know that you are about to touch a village and a community in a beautiful and enduring way. You will help them make bricks, build new schools, and rebuild their lives.
"I sit cross-legged in a hammock, on the edge of a ravine that is sacred to the family that hosts us. On the terrace above me, I hear sounds of the kitchen crew preparing breakfast. The Beatles, laughter, and knives on chopping boards sound so close, I fight the urge to look over my shoulder. It’s 6:30 a.m.
After more than a month exploring the damage to rural communities following the April 25th earthquake in Nepal, we have seen the extent of the work needed to rebuild the homes. Now we ask for your help: come join us in Nepal to help rebuild with your own hands! You can show your initial interest by going to our volunteer page.
Beginning this September 2015, we invite you to fly to Kathmandu where we will pick meet you and take you to our community partners in the mountains to help build homes. Working primarily with stone, earth and wood, every home is labor intensive and any help goes a long ways. Email us with any questions and learn more at www.consciousimpact.org. We hope to see you soon!
Allen and I, along with our good friend Michael Anderson, were definitely on a pilgrimage of sorts ourselves. After 6 months traveling in India, we had finally made it into the mountains for peace and solitude, a perfect environment for self-inquiry, yoga and meditation. At over 18,000 feet, nothing moves, and inner stillness comes with ease. We walked 5-10 miles each day, across passes and through valleys, but without any destination in mind. Except to see Mount Everest, of course. This would be our goal.
We reached Everest Base Camp on April 19th, where we explored the camps of hopeful summiters (those aiming to reach the 28,000+ feet peak of Everest), before returning to our guest house to begin our decent. We dropped more than 6,000 feet in 5 days, and were well on our way out of the mountains when the earthquake struck on April 25th just before 12pm. I was taking tea with a grandmother and 3 grandchildren in a two-story stone home. We ran out as fast as we could.
For the next 5 days, we hiked as quickly as we could to the nearest city. Along the way we passed home after home, cracked and damaged from the quake. Fortunately, the region where we were, Solukhumbu in eastern Nepal, was far enough from the epicenter that most families escaped without injury and there were no reported deaths in the area. It was not until we returned to Kathmandu that we understood the true impact.
In a time like this, people begin to ask: Why? Why here, why now, why me? For thousands of Nepali families, this is a heavy question, one filled with grief, loss and mourning. For me, and I expect Allen and Juliette (co-creaters of Conscious Impact), we are blessed that this question is not one of great sorrow, but rather of great humility, compassion and and an opportunity to serve. It was not in our plans to stay in Nepal, nor was it our plan to launch an organization dedicated to helping Nepali families rebuild their lives, but in this situation we can only respond, as we each must every day, to a changing world, with changing needs and changing inspirations and challenges. Which is appropriate I guess, as there appears to be only one truth in this world as the Buddha taught right here in Nepal so long ago:anicca...impermanence...all is change.
We all wish, from the bottom of our hearts, that Nepali families are able to recover from this tragedy and to rebuild stronger than ever. We hope that Conscious Impact can be a small piece of that recovery, and that our work gives a few resources, a bit of cash and that little push that anyone would need to re-create their life after it falls down. Let us see what this next journey brings...
Nepal is hit again. Another huge earthquake at 7.3 magnitude has families fleeing damaged homes around the country. This photo comes from the
outskirts of Kathmandu, as I was returning from Sindhupalchowk, near the epicenter. Today is another reminder of the work we have before us: https://life.indiegogo.com/fundraisers/nepal-earthquake-sustainable-housing-solutions. Much love from Nepal!
Just 24 hours after deciding to remain in Nepal to launch a fundraising campaign to rebuild homes in rural communities hit hardest by the April 25th earthquake, Conscious Impact founders Allen Gula, Juliette Maas and Orion Haas were humbled to make USA Today, one of the United State's most widely read news sources!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/07/delaware-trekkers-stay-help-rebuild-nepal/70987210/
We feel blessed to be given such attention, but most importantly we are happy to see a story about Nepal's rebuilding efforts in the headlines. While the earthquake has been a tragedy for many, we also see first-hand the strength of the Nepali people and the bright future ahead. We hope that we can play a small role to support these rebuilding efforts.
The USA Today article, by Margie Fishman, also highlights some of the personal story: "On Tuesday, Gula and his friend, UD senior Juliette Maas, decided to cancel their return flights and remain in Kathmandu to raise money for long-term sustainable building efforts. 'I have worked my whole life to be in this place and do this type of work,' said Gula, who, regretfully, will miss spending Mother's Day with his mom in Seattle. 'It's hard to see things you've seen and then turn around and go home.'"
UPDATE: Since this article was published, Conscious Impact's fundraising campaign has also been covered by local radio WDEL 101.7 in Delaware, NBC 10 in Philadelphia and widely read magazineWired. Please check out these stories and if you know any other media outlets looking for a story, we are always happy to cooperate.
Many blessings from Kathmandu!
Allen Gula and the Conscious Impact Team
